Jan. 8, 2007 (China Knowledge) – Shanghai Xingbake Café has been fined RMB 0.5 million for infringing on Starbucks’ trademark.

Shanghai Xingbake Café has also been ordered by the Shanghai Municipal Higher People's Court to change its name and make a public apology to Starbucks via local newspaper Xinmin Evening News. The name Xingbake is used by Starbucks in China. The Chinese character for “xing” means “star”, while the characters for “ba” and “ke” sounds like “bucks”.

Between 1996 and 1999, the world's biggest coffee chain operator registered its trademark Starbucks, Chinese name Xingbake, and its logo. Since opening its first store in 1999, Starbucks has established more than 200 outlets in 21 Mainland cities by Oct. 1 last year.